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 GOAL's Legislation "An Act Relative to the Common Defense" To Be Heard at State House
January 25. 2012 Update: Urgent!
Public Hearing - 2/7/12: The Joint Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a public hearing on 2/7/2012 in Room B-1 at the State House.
Please support this important legislation by contacting your legislator and the committee members, and if you are able, by attending this important public hearing. |
 Taunton Marksmanship Unit takes National Championship in Junior 3-Position Air Rifle! Massachusetts and GOAL were well-represented this weekend out in Port Clinton, Ohio, as the CMP held their National Air Rifle Competitions at Camp Perry. The new National Champions, won Gold at the Camp Perry Open 3x20 air rifle and set a new National Record by 5 points! Congratulations to MacKenzie Martin, Fairhaven, MA. Zack Connell, Whitman, MA. Sonya May, Rockland, MA. and Sarah MacLagan, Rehoboth, MA. |
 1/3/12 Officials scramble in wake of Needham hunting incident. Needham prohibits discharging a firearm on town land but not bow-hunting. Fitzpatrick said the town has not granted anyone permission to hunt with a bow on its land, but was unsure if such hunters needed the town’s permission, meaning bow hunters may be in a gray area. Hunting of any kind is banned on the Ridge Hill Reservation, according to Needham Conservation Commission rules provided to the Globe. It is legal to use firearms on private property and federal land within Needham’s borders, though hunters using them must abide by the state laws that prohibit hunting too close to homes and define hunting seasons. The shotgun season for deer started Monday. |
 "An Act Relative to Habitual Offenders"
11/17/11 Update.
the House version does not contain any threats to lawful gun owners and is absent of the wire tapping language that concerned us in the senate version. The bill will now likely go to a conference committee where the House and Senate will work through the differences in their versions. At the writing of this update the amended version of H.3818 was not yet available online, but it should be shortly.
Click here to view the legislation. |
 S.1182 “An Act Relative to the Safety of Law Enforcement Officers.”
Courts Disarming Law Enforcement. Yet another problem facing law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth is a growing number of state and local courts that are forcing them to disarm before entering the court room. Many law enforcement officers have to attend court on a regular basis for trials, hearings and etc. With again, another example of government turning on its own, courts are forcing officers to relinquish their firearms before going in.This practice is problematic for several reasons. Putting aside our own problems with the way Massachusetts treats other citizens in regards to guns, any officer should never be disarmed regardless of where they have to go. The other problem is one of firearm security.
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At the State House
- E-FA10 Issue GOAL has received a letter from EOPS/FRB in regard to the use of paper FA10 forms. They wanted us to know that going forward, the only accepted paper form will be the "official" numbered 3-part forms.
- H.3700 “An Act Relative to the Licensing of Firearms for Persons 70 years of Age or Older This bill has started moving through the legislative process. The bill was filed by Rep. Pignatelli in an attempt to correct yet another poorly written piece of Massachusetts gun laws.
- H.2400 "Youth Hunting Act" Still needs some help! Part of this bill has already passed in this years state budget, (reducing the fee for an FID card down to $25 for anyone under 18
- 10/28/11 An Act Repealing the Ban On Modern Sporting Arms. GOAL’s legislation filed by Rep. George Peterson to repeal the ban on modern sporting rifles is still held up in the House Committee on Rules.
- Boston City Council Holds
Gun Knife Control Hearing The testimony and statements heard during the public hearing were frighteningly reminiscent of past gun control hearings.
- EOPS Letter to FFL's - Once again, the EOPS letter regarding the possession and purchasing of so-called "assault weapons" is causing more confusion.
- Governor Patrick Files NIC's Legislation. GOAL currently opposes the legislation mainly because the current administration has proven itself to not be trustworthy
- 7/13/11 Thank you Rep Cabral! - Victory for Civil Rights in MA! Massachusetts' law-abiding gun owners chalked up another victory recently in late June when Rep. Antonio Cabral agreed to put his anti-gun bill (H.639) into a "study, where it will die,"
- Gun control measures ripped as misguided at hearing Senator Chang-Diaz asks MA gun owners to "accept some contraints in their personal liberty"
- Senator Brewer Comes Through for Sportsmen Again. In the recent budget deliberations in the Senate, the Senator was successful in securing two outside sections that will greatly help our youth activities.
- H.2400 "Youth Hunting Act" please help the kids and write your rep!
- E-FA10 Issue. MA is going electronic with the FA10, Updated 6/22/11 GOAL is seeking clarification as to what the new version will be.
- GOAL's H.1567 "Right to Carry" Bill.
This relatively small piece of legislation seeks to completely rewrite Section 131 of Chapter 140. Section 131 is the section of law that deals with the resident License to Carry (LTC).
- 5/12/2011 H.1568 Has First Public Hearing, now it's time to "write for your rights"! Thanks to all that attended! Now it is time to write/email/and call the members of the committee, and to ask them politely to release the bills with a favorable report. Without a favorable report the bills will most like go to "study" where they will languish for another year. Please don't let this happen!
- Proposed Lowell law would tighten rules for gun owners Lowell wants to require all owners of more than five firearms in the city to store them in a locked safe or vault. Violators of the law would face up to five years in state prison or up to 2.5 years in a jail or house of correction. Fines of between $5,000 and $10,000 could also be levied on violators.
- Muzzle Loaders, good news! Last year GOAL approached the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) to repeal the regulatory restrictions on the use of break open style muzzleloaders for the muzzleloading hunting season on deer. On Thursday, April 21, 2011 the DFW seven person board unanimously voted to amend the regulations.
- MA Legislators Introduce 5 Separate Pepper Spray Bills. How many people in Massachusetts even know they can receive two years in jail for carrying pepper spray without a license?
- H.639 Representative Cabral files bill to ban bolt, lever, and pump action long guns. GOAL is following this bill very closely and will send out an alert when or if action needs to be taken.
- H.2400 Youth Hunting Bill Alert. 3/28/11 Please call your legislator and ask them to sign onto Rep Gobi's letter!
- Trapping Legislation Released. On Monday, March 14, 2011 the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture held a public hearing on bills related to trapping and dam safety.
- Senator Chang-Diaz files S.1195, "An Act Regarding the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking and Gun Violence among the Youth of the Commonwealth." Section 13 proposes to imprison for five years any retailer who accepts or KEEPS more than 15 handguns in a one year period.
- GPS Locator Legislation. One bill that has been causing a stir on the internet is S. 1224, An Act Relative to a Study Commission on GPS Locators in Firearms.
- Two Separate "One Gun a Month" - Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act bills filed. We have talked about this bill for a decade now and everyone truly understands what an absurd proposal it is. Just the idea of placing blame and restrictions on lawful citizens in an attempt to control the actions of criminals is ludicrous.
- MA State Rep Daniel Webster files "An Act Relative to the Sale of Firearms". This bill will curb the Massachusetts Attorney General’s authority to regulate firearms under the consumer protection laws in Chapter 93A
- New legislation. Lots of new for 2011 legislation to keep an eye on, here is our most up to date list!
- End of Legislative Session wrap up. At midnight on Saturday, July 31, 2010 the Massachusetts Legislature ended formal sessions for the year. With a few legislative items in play until the very end, GOAL was in the State House until the last gavel was dropped at midnight.
- GOAL's Civil Rights and Public Safety Act (CRPSA) has been filed! Follow our dedicated site, massgunlawreform.com for the latest news and information.
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